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Out of warranty, Dell will not repair for free
I bought an Inspiron laptop about a year and a week ago as a gift for my wife. About 3 weeks ago the hinges on it completely busted and the screws shot out of it. This happened about the same time my wife had our first child (about 1 month early.) Needless to say getting the warranty work fell down our to do list a little bit. My wife called today and they will do absolutely nothing to help us. I spent almost $1000 on a machine that could not stay in reasonable working condition while never leaving the house and sitting on a table. We're talking 1 year here people. My wife was on the phone with them for almost 2 hours and talked to twelve different people and no one would do anything short of charging us $180. What a rip off and a joke. There's several Facebook pages with hundreds of upset Dell customers. I joined this one. I wonder how long this will stay up. I bet they're more vigilant about policing their forums than helping their customers.
hrova
2.2K Posts
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November 25th, 2009 15:00
As long as a post does not violate the Terms of Service you agreed to when you signed up for these forums, the post will stay up. I noticed some of your other posts appear to violate those rules.
Also, just if a post is deleted does not mean Dell is more vigilant about things on the forums. They have set up automatic filters which can and do automatically delete messages posted with non allowed words. Often, those disallowed things will show in the post as astersiks (like in on of your other posts) to allow the user a chance to edit ti so the post stays up. But it is not vigilance, it is simply automated filters.
On to your problem, sure, I'd be disappointed, but it sounds like your warranty is expired. Bad timing if it happened before the warranty expired and you didn't have time to report it, but it really sounds like a simple case of sour grapes due to the timing of the breakage.
There was recently an independent survey posted in these forums about laptop reliability, and Dell was very much in the middle of the pack - fifth out of nine companies. Nothing to be proud of, but also nothing that would qualify it as junk.
The part that is broken may be east to fix on your own. Start a new thread in the appropriate sub-forum, and I am sure someone could walk you through the steps and let you know a good place to get the parts. Good luck.
Xav8tor
43 Posts
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November 25th, 2009 18:00
Typical corporate defense mentality: make it as difficult as possible for any potential oppostion, no matter the ethics, cost, repercussions, or practicality involved. I can only snicker if that is their reasoning. They should put that kind of thought into improving customer service and support. In my opinion, building goodwill and brand loyalty is a much more beneficial way to avoid what it seems they are trying to avoid.
hrova
2.2K Posts
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November 25th, 2009 18:00
Dell's automated filters do delete that word. I guess there is an assumption that by stating it, there is an implied request to do so as a group or class.
For what it's worth, even regulars have found the automated filters to be very stringent....
scampbell1975
2 Posts
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November 25th, 2009 20:00
Well hrova, there may indeed be some sour grapes but it's because I expected a laptop that cost almost $1000 to work properly for more than 50 weeks. Bad luck? For $1000 luck should have nothing to do with it.
hrova
2.2K Posts
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November 25th, 2009 21:00
"For $1000 luck should have nothing to do with it."
Laptops are one of the few products I would consider an extended warranty for due to this very reason. Like it or not, a one year warranty is good for one year. If you choose (chose, in this case) not to get one, luck does come into play when the warranty expires.
Regardless, calling all Dell laptops junk seems a bit of an overstatement.
Have you considered trying to get help here so you can repair it yourself? Laptops are easy to work on, and parts can be found from places other than Dell.
ADMIN NOTE: THREAD LOCKED DUE TO AGE. If you have a similar question, please make a new post. Thanks.